Report Highlights Equity and Opportunity Gaps in Public Schools

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has released a data-based report highlighting inequity in public schools across the nation. U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. said the data represented “more than numbers and charts—they illustrate in powerful and troubling ways disparities in opportunities and experiences that different groups of students have in our schools.”

Much of FPG’s work also has identified disparities and addressed some of the types of inequity the new report notes. What follows are key excerpts from the report and the OCR’s announcement with links to more information and FPG resources.

Black preschool children are 3.6 times as likely to be suspended as are white preschool students... Nationwide, 2.8 million K–12 students received one or more out-of-school suspensions… In general, students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities are, on average, disciplined more often than their classmates.

In kindergarten through the 12th grade, black students are nearly four times as likely to be suspended as are white students. Black students also are nearly twice as likely to be expelled—removed from school with no services—as are white students.

More than 100,000 students were placed in seclusion or involuntary confinement or were physically restrained at school to mobilize them or reduce their ability to move freely—including more than 67,000 students with disabilities served by IDEA… Students with disabilities served by IDEA represent 12% of all students, but 67% of students subject to restraint or seclusion.

With regard to young children: research has long shown the benefits of including children with and without disabilities together in early learning settings due to the benefits for both groups. In 2015, FPG’s National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute was the site of the debut of a new draft federal policy statement on inclusion. Although the new federal policy focuses on inclusion of young children, one of its operating principles is that inclusion is essential across the lifespan.

10 percent of the teachers in schools with high numbers of black and Latino students are in their first year of teaching, compared to only 5 percent in schools with low numbers of black and Latino students...11 percent of black students, 9 percent of Latino students and 7 percent of American Indian or Alaska Native students attend schools where more than 20 percent of teachers are in their first year of teaching, compared to 5% of white students.

Schools are required under federal law to provide special education and related services for preschool-age children with disabilities. But more than half of school districts are offering preschool above and beyond what is required. More than 85 percent of those school districts are providing those services at no cost to families. Unfortunately, the remaining school districts are charging families to attend, which is a burden to low-and middle-income families.

FPG’s Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center improves state early intervention and early childhood special education service systems, increases the implementation of effective practices, and enhances the outcomes of these programs for young children and their families. It houses a treasure trove of resources.

For 50 years, FPG also has addressed disparities through a wide variety of projects that identify and/or alleviate inequities. Since the 1970s, FPG’s Abecedarian Project has become synonymous with positive, long-term effects of high-quality early care and education, particularly with regard to the power of early education to surmount some of the disadvantages of poverty.

In addition, FPG’s FirstSchool focuses on improving pre-k through 3rd-grade school experiences for African American and Latino children and their families, addressing challenges to producing equitable educational outcomes across demographic groups. FPG’s From Evaluation to Inquiry provides educators in struggling schools with lenses through which to view the experiences of African American, Latino, and low-income students and to make informed decisions about how to improve their school experiences.